stw brand/product snobbery

There's a distinct trend on this forum of unerring hatred of certain brands and gushing worship of others (possibly, but not necessarily based on past experiences/reality) Let's compile a list. I'll start

Shwalbe are ok, I've got some, Avid brakes are shit, I've had some.. My Hope minis have been faultless for five years..
No snobbery involved, just experience..
And I sold my Cotic for a Trek with no regrets..

Hmmmm. My experience of Avid hydraulic discs is poor - regular rebleeds to keep working properly and too many lever to bar oh sh*t moments when one or both brakes fail out on a ride. However, I really like my mechanical discs. I guess my objection is not that Avid brakes fail but that they do so with such alarming regularity. Smacking into the ground and getting a dead leg for my troubles when my Avid Elixir 5 failed for the umpteenth time was the last straw for me. A brake that doesn't stop you is about as useful as boobs on a fish!

Schwalbe on my bike right now, and contrary to popular belief, no they didn't shred when a pebble came near them. Might go back to Maxxis, but flints went straight thru a nobble the last time, and burst it.

Was just thinking about swapping to Avid Trail brakes. When will Shimano get round to making swappable L/R levers like all other brands?

I ignore user reviews and MBR reviews (they already write off a bike and instantly dock points out of 10 if they have Avid/Schwalbe).

All the above to go on a Cotic

Just waiting for the right spec new Cotic to become available, for a 2nd bike.

The problem with symetrical levers is bleeding, with avids there's always a bit of the cylinder above the height of the the syringe. Whereas any air in shimano brakes rises up and out of the funnel. And double sided designs are just pointless, adds parts which cost money to manufacture and assemble, and will never actualy be used.